Verizon Made Offer To Name Some Names
from the protecting-consumers-only-so-far dept
Back when Verizon first started to take their stand against the music industry so they wouldn't have to reveal the names of their customers anytime the RIAA decided someone might be doing something bad, we pointed out that (despite saying all the right things), Verizon was really doing so for selfish purposes. They didn't want to deal with the headache of having to process and hand over potentially thousands of requests for information from the music industry. However, all along they've been saying the right things about protecting privacy and the importance of going through the proper legal process. However, when push comes to shove, they let their true feelings out. Earlier this week, they apparently offered to name some names if the the RIAA would back off the ruling (LA Times, registration required). The compromise was that Verizon would pass on complaints from the RIAA while also handing over the names (remember that private info?) of a limited number of their users - in exchange for the RIAA not allowing the judges ruling (that Verizon needed to give up all names, at any point the RIAA requested them) to stand. The idea is that the RIAA might want to do this to avoid extending the legal battle. The RIAA, smelling blood, wants everything and turned down the offer. However, this does reinforce the idea that Verizon's "stand" isn't so much about protecting its customers' privacy - but about preventing themselves from being inundated with requests from the RIAA. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, but it's worth noting.
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Just when I started to not despise them utterly
Having been a subscriber to their DSL, and been victim to a few episodes of what I considered to be more arrogant clueless blame avoidance rather than technical support calls, I have an especially dark place in my heart for their entire operation.
But occasionally they do something that, on the surface, looks like it may have some clue again, and I really want to not hate them like I did.
Thanks for bringing it all back home again, and reminding me that, no matter how they try to hide it, that's still the company with the familiar voice of Darth Vader as its spokesperson and the image of the DeathStar in its old icons.
(I'm on SpeakEasy DSL, now, and the tech support clue level, as well as so many other facets of service, are so much better. Just hadda plug SpeakEasy for a bit)
- bish
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